1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates generally to building supplies. In particular, the present disclosure relates to wall plate devices and systems used to cover electrical boxes and/or components.
2. Technology
Wall plates are used in a variety of residential and commercial settings to cover electrical boxes and/or components contained therein. For example, a contractor may install a number of electrical boxes within a building during construction. Each box may contain one or more components therein, such as light switches, power receptacles, wires, and/or cables. A contractor may then use a wall plate to at least partially cover the electrical box and/or component. In particular, conventional wall plates may connect to the electrical box and/or component with one or more fasteners, such as screws. As a result, the wall plate may serve to improve the aesthetics and safety of construction. However, a variety of problems may be associated with the use of conventional wall plates.
For example, the installation, replacement, and removal of conventional wall plates may be inefficient and time consuming due to the manual labor required to screw and unscrew the fasteners holding the wall plate in place. This time consumption and inefficiency is multiplied by the fact that a single building can include dozens, if not hundreds of wall plates, each requiring at least one fastener to connect to a corresponding electrical box or component. Furthermore, if one desires to replace or upgrade wall plates within a building, he or she must first remove the old wall plates by unscrewing the old fasteners and then install new wall plates by screwing in the new fasteners, thereby compounding the burden of conventional wall plates. Although power tools may quicken this process, they do not entirely remedy the problems and inefficiencies associated with installing and/or removing wall plates using separate fasteners.
In addition to inefficiency, conventional wall plates may be unsightly. For example, conventional wall plates may be easily damaged during installation and/or removal. In particular, if a fastener is inadvertently over-tightened, it may crack the wall plate. The fasteners may also scratch the surface of wall plate during installation. Furthermore, the use of fasteners is visible on the surface of the wall plate, thereby resulting in an unsightly finished product. Magnifying this is the fact that fasteners may be painted, thereby being exposed to chipping, tarnishing, wear, and/or oxidation.
Therefore, one will appreciate that a number of problems currently exist with the use of wall plates. Although attempts have been made to remedy these problems, such attempts may require the use of additional parts and may not be operable with current standardized electrical boxes and components.